The bubble burst for odds-on favourite Longwah Supreme - he hit his customary flat-spot with 300m to go, but seemed anchored by 133 pounds and managed just fourth. Runner-up King Mossman was another left in the Tony Cruz-trained sprinter's wake.

Bullish Champion began his career off 90 on the strength of two stakes placings in Europe. He was fifth against a similar field in his Hong Kong debut, in which Mosse said he felt the tell-tale sign of a quality horse - genuine acceleration.

'From the first day I jumped on I said he was a good horse ... he has huge potential,' Mosse said.

'The way he moves and accelerates - he gave me a nice, strong kick up the straight. Good horses, they get right down near the ground and they kick ... he is a really serious animal.'

Both trainer and jockey agreed Bullish Champion was a genuine short-course specialist.

'His second time out at the races over 1,400m we tried to lead but he gave me a bit too much early on,' Mosse said. 'I was kind to him late because he had nothing to give.'

Cruz put his hand up and admitted he had erred in stretching the son of Exceed And Excel to seven furlongs.

'I found out he is a real sprinter,' he said. 'He is improving all the time and he has great potential.'

Bullish Champion is nominated for the Cathay Pacific International Sprint, but Cruz said the task of trying to qualify the horse - whose rating will climb into the mid-90s after yesterday - was 'too much, too soon'.

Mosse managed a double and was still on a high after riding Americain to victory in Australia 24 hours earlier.

'There was such a big crowd there and they all came to see him and they love him,' he said of the 2010 Melbourne Cup winner. 'It was a really great feeling to see so many people excited. He did a great job, at set weights though over 2,400m, he can't lose.'